In this week’s round-up:
- China takes centre stage as BRICS moves into its post-India phase
- India-China rapprochement remains one of the summit’s biggest after-effects
- Debate grows over whether BRICS can turn economic weight into influence
- BRICS’ expanding partner network gets more attention
China takes centre stage as BRICS moves into its post-India phase
With India’s 2026 presidency now over, attention is turning towards China’s 2027 chairship. The New Delhi Declaration committed BRICS to deeper cooperation across political/security, economic/financial and people-to-people areas, while giving partner countries a greater role in practical cooperation.
India-China rapprochement remains one of the summit’s biggest after-effects
The meeting between Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the New Delhi summit has continued to attract attention. The two leaders agreed to work towards resolving their contested border issue, giving the BRICS meeting an important bilateral dimension beyond the group’s formal agenda.
Debate grows over whether BRICS can turn economic weight into influence
This week’s analysis has focused on the gap between BRICS’ growing economic size and its ability to translate that weight into coordinated action. The Indian Express highlighted the absence of a comprehensive BRICS trade agreement and questioned whether improving India-China relations could create space for deeper economic integration.
BRICS’ expanding partner network gets more attention
The growing participation of partner countries is emerging as another important post-summit story. The New Delhi Declaration explicitly encouraged greater participation by BRICS partner countries in practical cooperation, while analysis this week has pointed to increasing interest from Southeast Asian countries in the grouping.
